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Sunday, 10 May 2015

Giant Choc Chip Cookie Dessert

Mothers day 2015 was celebrated on the 10 May and The Lovely Wife asked if I could make her a trifle. Sure! Why not! While the kids liked the idea of a trifle, they wondered if I could make something else as well. You see, I havent been baking too much new stuff off late and I guess the kids just wanted to try something new. I said I'd make them whatever they wanted but they retorted by asking me for suggestions. The trifle was being made on Saturday for Sunday as it needed time to set. So, since the inlaws were coming over on Saturday night, I decided I'd make something for dessert. I suggested a lemon cake but while my daughter thought that was a good idea, my son didnt seem to keen. I went through a few possibilities while searching the internet but most elicited looks of boredom and disinterest.

I had seen a Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie Sunday offered as dessert at some restaurant, I can't quite remember which one though. So I threw the idea to the kids about a giant choc chip cookie like dessert that you could eat with ice cream. The looks of boredom immediately turned to interest. Deep interest! I surfed the web for a few recipes and settled on this Choc Chip Cookie Cake from Sallys Baking Addiction.

Looking at the recipe, I wasnt't too happy that it called for one egg + 1 egg yolk as I didnt want to waste any egg white. I decided I'd modify it just a little and so I used two eggs. I compensated the extra white by baking the cookie a little longer. I also made two smaller cookies in ramekins as I felt there was a tad too much batter for a 9" dish.
The cookie turned out pretty well and I took it out to let it cool. The top hardened up and I gave the smaller cookies to the kids to try out. They said it was like a nice chewey choc chip cookie just a little softer. It had a nice crispy top and was soft and chewy in side.

Beat the butter until smooth. Add the brown sugar and beat on until creamy. Add in eggs and beat till combined. Add in Vanilla, scrape bowl and mix well. Sift together flour, cornstarch and baking soda. Add into butter mixture and mix till combined. The dough will be quite thick. Add in choc chops and mix together until evenly combined. Spoon dough into the prepared pan and level. Bake for about 40 mins

Remove from the oven and set the pan on a wire rack to cool. Cookie will be soft but will crisp up as it cools completely. Once cooled, use a sharp knife or metal spatula to loosen the sides of the cookie cake from the pan and transfer to a serving dish.

I let the large cookie cool but after removing the baking paper, I felt it was a little soft so I put it back in the oven for a little while to crisp the bottom up. Not too smart as it started getting soft again and the top (which was now the bottom) softened through the cooling rack and bits fell off....
Anyway, I stuck the bits back on and let it cool again. Thats why I didnt take a full picture!

Tastewise it was pretty awesome! It tasted like a soft chewey choc chip cookie and it cut nicely too. It may have been a tad thick and maybe next time I will bake it in a 10" dish. Cooking times have already been amended to reflect the extra heating I did.

The cookie-cake is delicious on its own and even better with a dollop of ice cream. I think one of the key things in this recipe is to use good quality chocolate chips - i used dark couverture so that always makes anything taste better. The kids loved it and my little princess was especially excited by how big the cookie was. She did admonish me though for baking it again and wrecking the look. She reckons I am always trying to improvise and should just sometimes follow recipes as they are. Wise words indeed but you never learn anything if you never try, right?